“Neat moments: The band Delta Moon holding their cellphones up to the upper
facade of Kitchener City Hall to take photos of their program photo being
projected far and wide.” – The Kitchener Record, August 7, 2010
When we first played the Kitchener Blues Festival two years ago we had a great time, but that was one of the longest days I can remember. We rose at 4:00 AM to catch an early flight to Toronto, then rode an hour or more to Kitchener and played an afternoon show at the Tent Stage. By the time we finished there Mark and I were already late for a slide guitar workshop at the Boathouse in Victoria Park. Then the band grabbed a quick bite before playing two sets at the Boathouse that night, a scene I remember as wall-to-wall pandemonium. When I finally got back to the hotel the bedside clock said 4:00 — a 24-hour day.
This year we managed to spread things out a little more. We flew up Thursday evening, played the Tent Stage Friday and the slide workshop and club show at the Boathouse Saturday (pandemonium again – these Canadians are our kind of folks). In between shows we had time to hang with some Kitchener friends and even see a few other bands. But with an outstanding line-up on three stages and our own schedule to keep, I didn’t catch half the acts I’d have liked to.
A high point of the weekend was running into our friend Ted Pecchio, who played bass on Delta Moon’s Clear Blue Flame CD and who is now with J.J. Grey and Mofro. After midnight Saturday night that band was gathering in the lobby of the venerable Walper Terrace Hotel, about to pile into a van and ride to Buffalo to board a 6:00 AM plane.
“Where are you guys going next?” asked the guitar player.
“To the bar,” said Mark. “We’re on a more relaxed flight schedule.”
